It is well known in the weapon arts that the firing chambers of small arms, and especially rapid-repeating arms discharging a large volume of ammunition, can suffer from a build-up of combustion byproducts from gun powder, accelerants, and sealants contained in the ammunition, which must be removed periodically to restore proper firing action. This is especially troublesome for AK-47 type rifles. Outside the U.S., many ammunition suppliers use a lacquer-based sealant between the projectile (bullet) and the casing of cartridge ammunition. When a round is fired, the lacquer is partially burned, and the combustion products form a particularly stubborn build-up of residue inside the firing chamber and on the firing mechanism that can interfere with operation of the rifle. Specially formed tools and brushes, along with appropriate solvents, can be very helpful in removing these deposits and restoring such a rifle to proper working order.
A problem with prior art cleaning tools is that a substantial plurality of different tools may be required to clean a plurality of different surfaces in the firing mechanism of a rifle. Having a multiplicity of special-purpose tools adds to the field weight of a tool kit; and further, individual of such tools can be prone to being lost or misplaced.
What is needed in the art is a multipurpose tool comprising a plurality of tool functions that is useful for cleaning and/or adjusting a plurality of rifle components.
It is a principal object of the present invention to improve and facilitate cleaning of firing chambers and related components of small arms, and especially of AR and AK type rifles.